the miscellaneous writings and speeches-3-第25章

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red　bad　writers　misrepresented　him　and　reviled　him；　but　not　one　of　the　hundred　could　boast　of　having　been　thought　by　him　worthy　of　a　refutation；　or　even　of　a　retort。　　The　Kenricks；　Campbells；　MacNicols；　and　Hendersons；　did　their　best　to　annoy　him；　in　the　hope　that　he　would　give　them　importance　by　answering　them。　　But　the　reader　will　in　vain　search　his　works　for　any　allusion　to　Kenrick　or　Campbell；　to　MacNicol　or　Henderson。　　One　Scotchman；　bent　on　vindicating　the　fame　of　Scotch　learning；　defied　him　to　the　combat　in　a　detestable　Latin　hexameter。　〃Maxime；　si　tu　vis；　cupio　contendere　tecum。〃　But　Johnson　took　no　notice　of　the　challenge。　　He　had　learned；　both　from　his　own　observation　and　from　literary　history；　in　which　he　was　deeply　read；　that　the　place　of　books　in　the　public　estimation　is　fixed；　not　by　what　is　written　about　them；　but　by　what　is　written　in　them；　and　that　an　author　whose　works　are　likely　to　live　is　very　unwise　if　he　stoops　to　wrangle　with　detractors　whose　works　are　certain　to　die。　　He　always　maintained　that　fame　was　a　shuttlecock　which　could　be　kept　up　only　by　being　beaten　back；　as　well　as　beaten　forward；　and　which　would　soon　fall　if　there　were　only　one　battledore。　　No　saying　was　oftener　in　his　mouth　than　that　fine　apophthegm　of　Bentley；　that　no　man　was　ever　written　down　but　by　himself。　Unhappily；　a　few　months　after　the　appearance　of　the　Journey　to　the　Hebrides；　Johnson　did　what　none　of　his　envious　assailants　could　have　done；　and　to　a　certain　extent　succeeded　in　writing　himself　down。　　The　disputes　between　England　and　her　American　colonies　had　reached　a　point　at　which　no　amicable　adjustment　was　possible。　　Civil　war　was　evidently　impending；　and　the　ministers　seem　to　have　thought　that　the　eloquence　of　Johnson　might　with　advantage　be　employed　to　inflame　the　nation　against　the　opposition　here；　and　against　the　rebels　beyond　the　Atlantic。　　He　had　already　written　two　or　three　tracts　in　defence　of　the　foreign　and　domestic　policy　of　the　government；　and　those　tracts；　though　hardly　worthy　of　him；　were　much　superior　to　the　crowd　of　pamphlets　which　lay　on　the　counters　of　Almon　and　Stockdale。　　But　his　Taxation　No　Tyranny　was　a　pitiable　failure。　　The　very　title　was　a　silly　phrase；　which　can　have　been　recommended　to　his　choice　by　nothing　but　a　jingling　alliteration　which　he　ought　to　have　despised。　　The　arguments　were　such　as　boys　use　in　debating　societies。　　The　pleasantry　was　as　awkward　as　the　gambols　of　a　hippopotamus。　　Even　Boswell　was　forced　to　own　that；　in　this　unfortunate　piece；　he　could　detect　no　trace　of　his　master's　powers。　　The　general　opinion　was　that　the　strong　faculties　which　had　produced　the　Dictionary　and　the　Rambler　were　beginning　to　feel　the　effect　of　time　and　of　disease；　and　that　the　old　man　would　best　consult　his　credit　by　writing　no　more。　But　this　was　a　great　mistake。　　Johnson　had　failed；　not　because　his　mind　was　less　vigorous　than　when　he　wrote　Rasselas　in　the　evenings　of　a　week；　but　because　he　had　foolishly　chosen；　or　suffered　others　to　choose　for　him；　a　subject　such　as　he　would　at　no　time　have　been　competent　to　treat。　　He　was　in　no　sense　a　statesman。　　He　never　willingly　read　or　thought　or　talked　about　affairs　of　state。　　He　loved　biography；　literary　history；　the　history　of　manners；　but　political　history　was　positively　distasteful　to　him。　　The　question　at　issue　between　the　colonies　and　the　mother　country　was　a　question　about　which　he　had　really　nothing　to　say。　　He　failed；　therefore；　as　the　greatest　men　must　fail　when　they　attempt　to　do　that　for　which　they　are　unfit；　as　Burke　would　have　failed　if　Burke　had　tried　to　write　comedies　like　those　of　Sheridan；　as　Reynolds　would　have　failed　if　Reynolds　had　tried　to　paint　landscapes　like　those　of　Wilson。　　Happily；　Johnson　soon　had　an　opportunity　of　proving　most　signally　that　his　failure　was　not　to　be　ascribed　to　intellectual　decay。　On　Easter　Eve　1777；　some　persons；　deputed　by　a　meeting　which　consisted　of　forty　of　the　first　booksellers　in　London；　called　upon　him。　　Though　he　had　some　scruples　about　doing　business　at　that　season；　he　received　his　visitors　with　much　civility。　　They　came　to　inform　him　that　a　new　edition　of　the　English　poets；　from　Cowley　downwards；　was　in　contemplation；　and　to　ask　him　to　furnish　short　biographical　prefaces。　　He　readily　undertook　the　task；　a　task　for　which　he　was　pre…eminently　qualified。　　His　knowledge　of　the　literary　history　of　England　since　the　Restoration　was　unrivalled。　　That　knowledge　he　had　derived　partly　from　books；　and　partly　from　sources　which　had　long　been　closed；　from　old　Grub　Street　traditions；　from　the　talk　of　forgotten　poetasters　and　pamphleteers　who　had　long　been　lying　in　parish　vaults；　from　the　recollections　of　such　men　as　Gilbert　Walmesley；　who　had　conversed　with　the　wits　of　Button；　Cibber；　who　had　mutilated　the　plays　of　two　generations　of　dramatists；　Orrery；　who　had　been　admitted　to　the　society　of　Swift；　and　Savage；　who　had　rendered　services　of　no　very　honourable　kind　to　Pope。　　The　biographer　therefore　sate　down　to　his　task　with　a　mind　full　of　matter。　　He　had　at　first　intended　to　give　only　a　paragraph　to　every　minor　poet；　and　only　four　or　five　pages　to　the　greatest　name。　　But　the　flood　of　anecdote　and　criticism　overflowed　the　narrow　channel。　　The　work；　which　was　originally　meant　to　consist　only　of　a　few　sheets；　swelled　into　ten　volumes；　small　volumes；　it　is　true；　and　not　closely　printed。　　The　first　four　appeared　in　1779；　the　remaining　six　in　1781。　The　Lives　of　the　Poets　are；　on　the　whole；　the　best　of　Johnson's　works。　　The　narratives　are　as　entertaining　as　any　novel。　　The　remarks　on　life　and　on　human　nature　are　eminently　shrewd　and　profound。　　The　criticisms　are　often　excellent；　and；　even　when　grossly　and　provokingly　unjust；　well　deserve　to　be　studied。　　For；　however　erroneous　they　may　be；　they　are　never　silly。　　They　are　the　judgments　of　a　mind　trammelled　by　prejudice　and　deficient　in　sensibility；　but　vigorous　and　acute。　　They　therefore　generally　contain　a　portion　of　valuable　truth　which　deserves　to　be　separated　from　the　alloy；　and；　at　the　very　worst；　they　mean　something；　a　praise　to　which　much　of　what　is　called　criticism　in　our　time　has　no　pretensions。　Savage's　Life　Johnson　reprinted　nearly　as　it　had　appeared　in　1744。　　Whoever；　after　reading　that　life；　will　turn　to　the　other　lives　will　be　struck　by　the　difference　of　style。　　Since　Johnson　had　been　at　ease　in　his　circumstances　he　had　written　little　and　had　talked　much。　　When；　therefore；　he；　after　the　lapse　of　years；　resumed　his　pen；　the　mannerism　which　he　had　contracted　while　he　was　in　the　constant　habit　of　elaborate　composition　was　less　perceptible　than　formerly；　and　his　diction　frequently　had　a　colloquial　ease　which　it　had　formerly　wanted。　　The　improvement　may　be　discerned　by　a　skilful　critic　in　the　Journey　to　the　Hebrides；　and　in　the　Lives　of　the　Poets　is　so　obvious　that　it　cannot　escape　the　notice　of　the　most　careless　reader。　Among　the　lives　the　best　are　perhaps　those　of　Cowley；　Dryden；　and　Pope。　　The　very　worst　is；　beyond　all　doubt；　that　of　Gray。　This　great　work　at　once　became　popular。　　There　was；　indeed；　much　just　and　much　unjust　censure：　　but　even　those　who　were　loudest　in　blame　were　attracted　by　the　book　in　spite　of　themselves。　　Malone　computed　the　gains　of　the　publishers　at　five